Current methods for delivering active agents to desired sites in an organism suffer from various limitations. For instance, many active agents, such as anti-cancer drugs (e.g., paclitaxel), act in a non-specific manner against both diseased cells and normal cells. Such non-specificity can cause undesired side effects in a subject (e.g., nausea, hair loss, reduced immune response, etc.). The non-specificity of many active agents can also reduce their therapeutic efficacy.
To alleviate the above-mentioned problems, active agents have been linked to numerous carriers, such as nanoparticles. However, such methods also suffer from various limitations. For instance, many carriers may not be able to effectively deliver and/or release the active agents at desired sites. This problem can be further amplified by the lack of solubility of many active agents and/or carriers. Accordingly, there is currently a need to design more effective approaches for the delivery of active agents to desired sites for treating various diseases and conditions (including cancer).